The Windows Live platform services team is releasing several updated tools and APIs today that will help web developers and Windows Live partners create new communication and sharing tools for their customers. These include the new Windows Live Messenger Library beta, an updated Windows Live Contacts API beta and other tools and APIs, all available from http://dev.live.com.

Get all the details from David Treadwell on Windows Live Dev News.

Improvements to Windows Live SkyDrive, including 5 GB of free online storage, were released to the public today in 38 countries or regions around the world!

SkyDrive provides free, password-protected online file storage and sharing. It's a great way to make sure your files are available to you from any computer, without having to carry them around on a flash drive. I also find it really useful for sharing files that may be too big to send in e-mail.

It's dead simple to use, so go ahead and try it out.

New in this release:

• Free online storage is increasing from 1GB to 5 GB
• Now available in many more places around the world (see if it's available where you live)
• Faster and more reliable service
• Not in beta anymore--this time it's official!

SkyDrive takes its place in the ever-growing collection of Windows Live offerings (Hotmail, Mail, Photo Gallery, Calendar, Spaces, Writer, Messenger, Events, Toolbar, and OneCare Family Safety). With file storage and sharing on SkyDrive, you have one more tool to help you manage your online world.

Read more about today's release and tell the team what you think on the SkyDrive team blog.

Have fun!

- Antonia

If you use Messenger and haven't yet upgraded to Messenger 8.5 (the latest version that we released in November 2007), you will soon be prompted to install the optional upgrade. Read more about the gradual rollout of this upgrade in Jura's post on the Messenger blog.

You can read more about what's included in this update in Nicole's blog post (about the beta version of 8.5), or see the full list of features on the Messenger features page.

To upgrade now, go to http://get.live.com/messenger/overview. 

Our friends at MSN Movies just posted a new Academy Awards 2008 page on Windows Live Spaces, with photos, videos, news, and other fun stuff about the Oscars.

Hosting an Oscar event yourself? Use our Windows Live Events Oscar invitation for your own party. When you use this template, you automatically get a ready-made Oscars 2008 website on Windows Live Events, with links to movie trivia, a place for your friends to RSVP, a discussion board, and places to post photos of your party later. And of course, you can customize your event further by  adding links to your own favorite moviestar fan sites, polls, or whatever.

- Antonia